Spraying apparatus and means for refilling spray cans

ABSTRACT

A combination of a self-powered supply container and a hande gun for spraying parting material onto the surfaces of the molds. Fluid parting material under pressure exits from the lowermost portion of the container when in an operating position into a flexible conduit which conducts the fluid to a manually operable hand gun having a conventional spray head and valve assembly clamped to a cylindrical body with a surge or vapor chamber therein. The actuation of the valve assembly also may be by a pneumatic or solenoid, automatic or semi-automatic control system.

United States Patent 1 Morse 3,765,459 Oct. 16, 1973 SPRAYING APPARATUS AND MEANS FOR Primary ExaminerHouston S. Bell, Jr.

REFILLING SPRAY CANS Att0rneyFay et a1.

[75] Inventor: Albert R. Morse, Beachwood,

OblQ .v.

ABSTRACT hi1 x's'sig i M s clfi ail Clevleand, ohm

[22] Filed: No 10, 1970 A combination of a self-powered supply container and [2i] Appl. No.: 88,319

a hande gun for spraying. parting material onto the surfaces of the molds. Fluid parting material under pres- Related Application Dam sure exits from thelowermost portion of the container when in an operating position into a flexible conduit which conducts the fluid to a manually operable hand [62] Division of Ser. No. 812,270, April 1, 1969, Pat. No.

gun having a conventional spray head and valve assembly clamped toa' cylindrical 'body with a surge or vapor chamber therein. The actuation of the valve assembly also may be by a pneumatic or solenoid, automatic or semi-automatic control system.

11 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,366,148 Mizuguchi 141/20 PATENTED UN 16 I975 SHEET 10F 3 FIG. 2

INVENTOR. ALBERT RMORSE ATTORNEYS PATENTED UN 16 1975 SHEET 2 0F 3 FIG. 9

INVENTOR. ALBERT R. MORSE BY y, /4 44 maul-(144d ATTORNEYS PATENTEUUEI 16 ms 3.765L459 SHEET 3 OF 3 INVENTOR. ALBERT R. MORSE ATTORNEYS SPRAYING APPARATUS AND MEANS FOR REFILLING SPRAY CANS This application is a division of U. S. patent application Ser. No. 812,270, filed Apr. 1, 1969 now US. Pat. No. 3,592,390.

An aerosol can having a spray head on each end and with each head including a flexible tubular inlet extending into the can to near the opposite end thereof.

Apparatus for refilling aerosol cans having a spray head on each end. The apparatus includes a large selfpowered supply tank with a flexible tubularconduit attached to the lower end thereof. The distal end of the conduit is attached to a filler head at a filling station. The filling station includes a base with an upwardly extending rod and a reciprocable bracket secured'to the rod above the base. Attached to the bracket is a filler head which accommodates the upper end of an aerosol can to be refilled. A support holds a handle in gear engagement with a bracket rod which extends upward from the bracket, through an aperture in the support adjacent the handle. Manual operation of the handle serves to reciprocate the bracket up and down to take 7 the filler head into and out of operative engagement with a can. Removably fixed to the base is a vent block with a bleed hole therein for receiving the lower end of the spray can.

A container of parting material and propellant wherein the propellant is selected from the group comprising dichlorodifluoromethane, trichlorornonofluoromethane, nitrogen, isobutane, dry air, carbon dioxide and mixtures thereof.

BACKGROUND AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Aerosol spray cans used for hair spray, insecticides, etc. are old and well known in the art. One of the problems which exists with conventional spray cans is the single spray head which is permanently attached by crimping to one end and which has a given spray direction (side or end orifice) and produces either fine spray or coarse spray. When used to spray parting material onto-mold surfaces, it is often desirable to give a heavy coating on some molds and a fine or light spray on others. Plural nozzles in a single can or plural cans with diverse nozzles are needed. 4

Another problem with conventional spray cans is that they are used only once and then become rubbish. Thus, there is a need in the art to provide a refillable spray can to reduce expense. It is an object of this invention to provide a refillable spray can having a plurality of spray heads, one on each end. This allows at least two different orifice openings with only one can.

It is another object of this invention to provide a spray can having at least two spray heads thereon, one on each end thereof.

When spray cans are used in the operation of spraying parting material, it is much more economical to have a refillable spray can which maybe refilled from a large container of the parting material thanto discard the can after it is empty. It is an object of this invention to provide apparatus for refilling spray cans having spray heads on each end of the can.

Spray cans are often too small to contain an adequate supply of parting material to be sprayed in a given molding apparatus over an extended period of time, such as sprays for mold surfaces, rust preventative for the underside of a car, etc. Such would be too large and heavy for convenient manual manipulation. Also, pilferage is a problem with easily portable small cans. Thus, there is a need in the art to provide a spraying device operatively connected to a large quantity of parting material which is too bulky to carry away in a lunch pail. It is an object of this invention to provide a spray gun for parting material adapted to be attached to a large volume container of parting material. This invention includes structure which is an improvement over that disclosed by J. C. Miller in US. Pat. No.

2,888,176, issued May 26, 1959. The parting material is ordinarily under pressure in the container due to an incorporated pressurizing agent or propellant.

Another problem exists with manually controlled molding systems wherein it is necessary to periodically spray the mold surfaces with the parting material. It is important that uniform spraying of the mold surfaces be conducted without continual manual supervision. It is an object of this invention to provide an automatically controlled spray system which periodically sprays a consistent amount of parting material onto mold surfaces in relation to a timed sequence.

Other molding operations require an operator to be on the job observing the operations at all times. Frequently, it is necessary to spray the mold surfaces with a coating of parting material. It is often desirable to mount the spray gun on the molding machine housing and to provide for a specific quantity of spray with each actuation, theactuation to occur by means of a push button depressed by the operator. The quantity and direction of spray are automatically controlled by other mechanisms. It is an object of this invention to provide such a semi-automatic spraying device by adapting such a device to the novel spray gun body disclosed herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagramatic view of a self-powered container, one end of a flexible conduit being attached to the lower end thereof and a manually operable spray gun attached to the other end;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the spray gun of FIG. 1, partially in section;

FIG. 3 is a plurality of valve assemblies which are usable interchangeably with the valve assembly of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a refillable aerosol can with a spray head on eachend;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an aerosol can being refilled by the refilling apparatus of this invention;

FIG. 6 is a right side elevational view of thefilling station and aerosol can of FIG. 5 with the bracket and automatic filler shut-off head in can-filling position;

FIG. 7 is a left side elevational view of the filling station and aerosol can of FIG. 5 with the bracket and automatic filler shut-off head in retracted position;

FIG. 8 is an exploded view of the bracket attachment and filler head of this invention, partially in section;

FIG. 9 is a diagramatic view of a mold, an automatically controlled spray device and the control mechanisms; and

FIG. 10 is an elevational view of three different spray-actuating mechanisms.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a large inverted container 10 containing parting material for mold surfaces and the pressurizing propellant is shown with a support 12 holding it in a stable inverted position. Preferably, the propellant includes Freon 11, Freon 12, isobutane, nitrogen, dry air, carbon dioxide or mixtures thereof. One particularly effective propellant has been a mixture of nitrogen and dichlorodifluoromethane. A manually operable valve 14 is connected to the container to control the discharge of pressurized parting material. The support 12 is used as a handle when moving the container 10 and it serves also to protect the valve 14 from impact damage. Conventional parting or moldrelease materials or agents available on the market, such as silicones, oils, waxes, etc., are used in the preferred embodiment of this invention. Attached to the valve 14 is a flexible conduit 16 which conducts the fluid parting material from the container 10 to a manually operable spray gun 18. The conduit 16' is connected to a hollow fitting 20 which threads into an opening 22 in the'body 24 of the spray gun.

As best seen in FIG. 2, a duct 26 extends through the body from the opening 22 to a counterbore or' enlarged surge chamber 28. A cone-shaped surface 27 flares out from the duct to the surge chamber. The counterbore 28, duct 26 and opening 22 are generally axially aligned. External threads 30 on the body 24 generally circumscribe the counterbore 28 and are of such a configuration as to prevent unscrewing of the hand gun cap or valve retainer whenever there is residual pressure inside the valve gun body. A 60 V-shaped thread is used with fine tolerances and enough threads such that manual disengagement is impossible due to friction on alternate thread faces when the system is pressurized. Three annular grooves 31 are formed in the body 24 near the other end as a gripping surface.

Structurally, the body 24 of the spray mechanism is very simple in design. The threads, grooves, passageways, etc. are so designed as to be easily machined from commercially available bar stock without the necessity of employing special tools or sophisticated lathe operations. An annular shoulder 32 near the counterbored end of the body 24 serves as a sealing surface for an elastomeric O-ring 34. When in assembled position, the O-ring is sandwiched between the shoulder 32 on the body and an outwardly extending flange 36 on the valve assembly 38. Any standard commercial oneinch cup" valve assembly may be used.

The valve assembly 38 as illustrated includes an actuating lever 40 which is adapted to depress a valve pin which opens a valve (not shown) contained in the housing 42. Parting material sprays from an orifice 43 on the opposite side of the gun 18 from the finger-of the operator. The valve assembly is fed by a flexible inlet tube 44 which extends to near the bottom of the counterbore. Upon assembly, it has been found that the flaring junction 27 between the passage 26 and the counterbore 28 tends to center the tube 44 near the center of the body 24 and facilitate the assembly operation and prevent bending of the tube.

A hollow cylindrical cap 46'is internally threaded 48 and is adapted to engage the external threads 30 on the body 24. An inwardly extending shoulder 49 on the cap 46 clamps the valve assembly flange 36 against the-O- ring 34. The cap 48 is knurled 50 on its exterior for easier gripping during assembly and disassembly. As seen in FIG. 1, when the cap 46 is threaded to the body 24, the actuating lever 40 extends above the cap for manual actuation or, as subsequently will be discussed, for solenoid or pneumatic automatic control operations.

Special structure is provided within the cap 46 to protect the threads 30 on the body 24. It includes an inner cylindrical surface 51 of an extension which is adapted to extend past the threads 30 into closely surrounding relationship with the cylindrical surface 52 of the body 24. When the cap and body are operatively connected, it is desirable to prevent dust and foreign matter from contacting the threads 30 and 48 and possibly fouling the easy hand-tight connection. Grit and dust are common hazards in any factory, and it is important to isolate such threaded parts where possible. Also, the extension of the cap 46 prevents burring of the threads 30 should the hand gun accidentally strike some sharp-cornered surface.

The actuating lever 40 and valve pin are conventional apparatus and the valve assembly 38 of FIG. 2 may be replaced by any of the valve assemblies shown in FIG. 3 or either of the two shown on the ends of the can 65 in FIG. 4. All of the spray heads shown are standard pieces of equipment which may be ordered in bulk from various companies at low cost. Many other equally effective mass produced, inexpensive valve assemblies are available on the market. It should be emphasized that the particular spray gun 18 is structured to receive, interchangeably, any of the manyhundreds of commercially available spray heads or spray assemblies currently on the market. That is because the industry has standardized the diameter and curvature of the cup shoulder 36 on the assembly. This interchangeability is an important feature of the invention in that, one may quickly attach a fine spray, side opening head, an end opening head having a coarse spray, etc. in the gun. Spray heads per se, may have end or side spray orifices, they may have fine or coarse sprays or they may have snorkel, fan or metered flow patterns. Any particular orifice opening or attitude may be substituted into the spray gun 18 as desired by the operator as the work dictates. The spray heads shown are merely illustrative of many of those available on the market.

The manually operable spray gun 18 is convenient and desirable in some molding operations where an operator is always on duty to observe the operations and to manually spray the mold surfaces periodically, as

' needed. However, it is sometimes desirable to speed up the operation by providing a semi-automatic spraying operation. In this semi-automatic type of equipment, the spray gun 18 is rigidly mounted alongside the molds and periodicallythe operator of the machine will simply press a button which will cause the spraying to take place. The pattern of spray and the duration thereof may be automatically controlled by other equipment, such as illustrated in FIG. 9. This may include a sweepmounted spray system with a modular support structure holding the gun carrier. The sweep may be mounted so as to operate horizontally or vertically through a twelve, eighteen or thirty inch stroke. A limit switch could prevent mold closing until the sweep cycle has been completed.

For the same reasons that the semi-automatic system is useful, a fully automatic spraying device may be used. As illustrated in FIG. 9, a counting device 54 monitors the number of reciprocations of the molds 55 and, following a given number of reciprocations, will actuate the spray gun 18 to spray a uniform coat of mold release fluid onto the mold surfaces. The full operation is controlled by an automatic control device 56. The three indicated control knobs 57 are merely illustrative and could be designed to control, for example, the duration of spray, the number of reciprocations be tween each spraying sequence and the time delay between the retraction of the molds and the time the spraying begins. Other variable operations may be controlled if desired, such as a limit switch at 54 to stop or start the spray instead of or in addition to the counting device.

FIG. shows from right to left, (I the spray gun 18 as it is used in a manual operation, (2) the same spray gun body 24 threaded into a housing 58 and actuated by a solenoid device 60, and (3) the same body 24 threaded into a housing 62 actuated by a pnuematically controlled device 64. Obviously, the pneumatic or solenoid controls will be used with either the semi-or fully automatic control systems. In operation, the actuating lever 40 is removed from the valve assembly 38 and the valve pin is positioned in either housing 58 or 62 to be depressed by a rod or piston (not shown) with the depression being automatically controlled. Similarly, any other conventional valve assembly could be used in this combination.

Observing FIG. 4, the spray can 65 has a plurality of spray heads, one on each end. One spray head may be for coarse spray and the other for fine spray or as illustrated, a head 66 having a side orifice supported on a short tube 67 and another head 68 with an end orifice is supported on another short tube 69. The heads 66 and 68 may be removed and replaced by any one of the heads shown in FIG. 3 mother commercially available heads, this being merely a matter of choice or need as dictated by the work involved.

The remainder of the valve assembly is ordinarily.

fixed to the can 65 and permanently'in place with the valve conventionally being spring biased to closed position. As shown in phantom, flexible tubes 71 and 73 extend from the valve assemblies toward opposite ends of the spray can. Each tube is connected to a valve assembly and terminates in free ends 77 and 79 near the opposite end of the can. The reason for this structure will be explained subsequently.

The dual-ended spray can is found to be most effective, safe and useful and it is desirable to structure the can whereby it may be refilled periodically as needed. Apparatus for such refilling is shown in FIGS. 5-8 and is indicated generally at 70. A container 10 similar to the container shown in FIG. 1 with the support 12 and manual valve 14 attached, sits adjacent the refilling apparatus. The conduit 16 conducts fluid from the lowermost portion of the container to the refilling apparatus or filling station 70.

The filling station 70 includes a base 72 with an upstanding rod 74. Two grommets 76 and 78 slidingly circumscribe the rod 74 and hold a reciprocable bracket 75 and a handle support 80 in fixed position relative to the centerline of the rod 74 and for up and down reciprocation of the bracket. The bracket 75 supports a filter assembly 82, a supply line valve 83, the body 24 and a spring-loaded filler head assembly 84 which includes the sealing O-ring 34 and a transfer valve 85 therein. Conventional tube fittings as necessary are provided to connect the flow-regulating components.

A handle 86 is manually operable to cause the bracket 75 and attachments to reciprocate back and forth toward the base 72. A vertical height adjustment is provided adjust the position of the filler head 84 relative to the bracket to allow for filling of different sizes of cans. This includes a threaded sleeve 87 on the upper end of the bracket rod 88. The handle support is clamped to the rod 74 by a set screw 89 and may be roughly adjusted to set the height of the filler head 84 above the base 72. Then the sleeve 87 is adjusted on the bracket rod 88 to limit the downward extension of the head 84 upon rotation of the handle 86.

The cooperating gear engagement of the handle 86 and the bracket rod 88 is generally conventional structure and is used, for example, in drill presses where the handle is pushed downward causing gear teeth on the handle extension 90 to mesh with gear teeth on the bracket rod 88 and force the filler head 84 downward along with the other elements fixed to the bracket 75. However, in conventional structure the bracket 75 is usually spring biased upward; in the preferred embodiment of the instant invention, the bracket 75 is spring biased downward. This is clearly optional with the operator.

Removably attached to the base 74 is a vent block 92 with a bleed hole 94. The lower end of a can 65 to be refilled will rest on the vent block and with a downward force exerted by the filler head 84, the block 92 will depress the juxtaposed valve pin (the spray head having been removed) and open the valve to the atmosphere through the bleed hole 94.

Observing FIG. 8, the body 24 clamped in the bracket 75 by a set screw 96 is identical to the body 24 used in the spray gun assembly. This gun body 24 is thus shown to be universally useful in the several spraying systems embodied in this invention.

In operation the valve 14 is first opened and then the valve 83 is opened. A refillable, double-ended aerosol can, such as the can 65 in FIG. 4, is then prepared for refilling. First, the spray heads 66 and 68 are removed. The can is then ready to be placed on the bent block 92 with the valve pin 69 of the lower spray head 68 extending downward into the vent block. The handle 86 is first raised, the can 65 is placed on the vent block 92 and the handle is lowered to bring the filling head 84 into contact with the upper section of the can. As the spring-loaded transfer valve in the filler head 84 is compressed against the top of the can, it opens to allow parting material under pressure to open the upper can valve and flow from the container 10 through the flexible conduit 16 and the filter assembly 82 into the can through the filler head 84. The pressure of the propellant incorporated in the parting material forces the transfer of the liquid contents from the container 10 to the can 65.

Observing FIG. 4, it is seen that the liquid parting material will flow downward through the flexible tube 71 to the bottom of the can 65. As the liquid level rises in the can 65, gas is forced out of the can through tube 73 and the open lower valve assembly. Because the inlet end 77 of the flexible tube 73 attached to the lower valve assembly is near the top of the can, the parting material will not overflow and exit from the can through the vent block 92 until the can is properly filled. Thus, there is a clear indication to the operator that the can is correctly filled when the parting material begins to flow out of the bleed hole 94; and it cannot be filled to dangerously unsafe pressures or volumes as the necessary head space isautomatically controlled by the length of the dip tube 73.

It is thus clear that it is only necessary to wait until the parting material begins to flow out of the vent 94 eliminates the needfor a flow regulating or pumping device which could be attached to the filling station 70 and which would measure the flow rate and automatically terminate the flow of parting material when a given volume of material had been forced into an unvented can or a standard can not having the safety feature provided by the double tubes 71 and 73.

The preferred embodiments of this invention have been illustrated and described, however, it is understood that the language and illustrated embodiments are not intended as the limitations on the invention. Various modifications will readily occur to those having ordinary skill in the art (i.e., refilling spray cans with other materials) and such modifications are within the scope of the invention as disclosed. It is intended that the invention be limited only by the appended claims.

I claim: l. in an apparatus for refilling spray cans comprising, a self-powered container of fluid for spray cans and a filling station for injecting said fluid into the cans,

the station including a filler head with a transfer valve in fluid communication with the container, means for forcing the fluid into a can and means for venting the can during filling, the-can being sealed from the atmosphere before it is delivered to the filling station, the improvement comprising:

said filling station further including in combination a rigid stand comprising a base with a rod extending upwardly therefrom,

a reciprocable bracket being secured to the rod and disposed above the base,

the filler head being removably attached to the bracket and the venting means being removably attached to the base, and

a handle operably attached to the rod and bracket to reciprocate the bracket toward and away from the base.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the fluid exits from the container near its lowest portion.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 including a manually operable valve between the container and the filler head.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the filler head is above the venting means.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the venting means includes means for depressing a spring biased valve in a can to be filled, thereby opening the valve.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the forcing means also depresses and thereby opens another spring biased valvein the can.

7. The valve of claim 6 wherein the venting means includes a vent block with a bleed hole, the block being located below the filler head.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 including means for adjusting the height of the filler head relative to the vent block.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 including a manually operable valve adjacent the filler head for controlling the flow of fluid from the container.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the fluid in the container exits near the lowest part thereof.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 including a fluid control valve attached to the fluid exit of the container. 

1. In an apparatus for refilling spray cans comprising, a self-powered container of fluid for spray cans and a filling station for injecting said fluid into the cans, the station including a filler head with a transfer valve in fluid communication with the container, means for forcing the fluid into a can and means for venting the can during filling, the can being sealed from the atmosphere before it is delivered to the filling station, the improvement comprising: said filling station further including in combination a rigid stand comprising a base with a rod extending upwardly therefrom, a reciprocable bracket being secured to the rod and disposed above the base, the filler head being removably attached to the bracket and the venting means being removably attached to the base, and a handle operably attached to the rod and bracket to reciprocate the bracket toward and away from the base.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the fluid exits from the container near its lowest portion.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 including a manually operable valve between the container and the filler head.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the filler head is above the venting means.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the venting means includes Means for depressing a spring biased valve in a can to be filled, thereby opening the valve.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the forcing means also depresses and thereby opens another spring biased valve in the can.
 7. The valve of claim 6 wherein the venting means includes a vent block with a bleed hole, the block being located below the filler head.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1 including means for adjusting the height of the filler head relative to the vent block.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8 including a manually operable valve adjacent the filler head for controlling the flow of fluid from the container.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the fluid in the container exits near the lowest part thereof.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10 including a fluid control valve attached to the fluid exit of the container. 